The views expressed are those of the author and are not necessarily those of Scientific American. "Risky" is definitely not a one-size-fits-all concept. It's not just that we aren't all at the same level of every risk. Our tolerance of risk-taking in different situations can be wildly different, too.

The views expressed are those of the author and are not necessarily those of Scientific American. It was a singular act of courage for Angelina Jolie to so openly reveal her fears and preventive double mastectomy. She just amazes, again and again.

The views expressed are those of the author and are not necessarily those of Scientific American. She started by asking me something like, "We understand you know a lot about AIDS, is that right?" "A fair bit, I guess. Why?" It was 20 years ago, in Sydney - before the antiretroviral drug combinations arrived.

What's the attraction of risky winter sports in particular, though? With a look at the micromort method of comparing the risks of different activities. (That's way more interesting than it might sound! In which we find out how the risks of scuba-diving and sky-diving stack up, too.)

The views expressed are those of the author and are not necessarily those of Scientific American. The one time I went flying off the side of a mountain on skis, I certainly didn't mean to. Before I hit the ground, there was a surprising amount of time for reflection - and more on the long painful schlep down to the ambulance.

The views expressed are those of the author and are not necessarily those of Scientific American. A competition for attention lies at the heart of the scientific enterprise. And the abstract is its "blurb." A scientific abstract is a summary used to attract readers to an article and to get a piece of research accepted for a conference presentation.

The views expressed are those of the author and are not necessarily those of Scientific American. Disasters are heart-wrenching. The scale of the distress and suffering can be hard to bear even when you're just watching snug and safe in your unaffected lounge room. Those images send us rushing to donate in droves.

The views expressed are those of the author and are not necessarily those of Scientific American. It started in the '70s. A pregnant woman with diabetes faced a deeply entrenched medical routine: months in hospital having her blood glucose closely monitored.

The views expressed are those of the author and are not necessarily those of Scientific American. He would dab on a bit of cocaine to anesthetize his eyes first. Then, to prevent air getting in, Müller would insert the lenses with his eyes under water. And they would help his myopia ...

What we'll do in hopes of preventing disease, and spreading the shadow of angst about disease unnecessarily while we're at it, is something I write about more, though. Here's a Storify collecting those posts: